Fieldwork 3 & 4, How Things Change!

How quickly the land changes! I took more photos and notes mid May with still no rain. It was cooling down on this particular day. I knew rain was coming, so I headed out to see how things had transformed.

Crocuses / Pulsatilla post bloom

Yes, those were the fuzzy little purple flowers. They stretch right up and turn into puffs that are prettier than a wishing dandelion. Looking across this patch, I can't imagine how incredible it must have been to see it all in bloom. And then it strikes me, how rare this is. Plough it, and it's gone forever.

I spied Three Flowered Avens, just waking up. Ooooh!  I've never seen these while growing up on the prairie. It's the one plant that I discovered only after moving to Saskatoon. Let me tell you, it was INSTANT adoration. If you haven't seen these before, hold tight. I'm taking more images as they change.

Three Flowered Avens

There are also violets. I headed north about 2 hours for the long weekend to the area where I grew up. Look at the violets in my yard!

The landscape is a little different here. It's right beside a lake. It's rocky and wooded a little more. The Saskatoon bushes are done blooming and the chokecherries are about to start. On the cliff down to the water, I saw a flower I had never seen before. This was taken on my friend's camera.

THESE turn into red berries, and those I have seen

Thanks to the help of the Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan, I got a quick identification online from them. Fairybells! (!?!?!?) Well... my goodness. I couldn't think of a better flower's name to find growing along the steps at the future lake studio. I googled more about it and discovered the red velvety berried this plant will produce. Ah yes! Those I recognize. This would make sense because at this time of year, we weren't racing up and down those steps to be swimming like we would be in the summer once the blooms were gone and the berries were out.

At the end of the May long weekend, it finally happened! It rained on the Prairie. It rained and it rained. Then it rained some more. Eventually, on May 27th I went out with my 17 yr old back to the first location in this post to revisit those avens. Here's what we photographed.

Prairie Onion blooming

Early Yellow Locoweed, teenager, dog.

Three Flowered Avens and green prairie grasses

If you look close, a bunch of the tallest ones are standing straight up and have puffy hairdos like those little trolls. They make me laugh. They look like something Jim Henson created. They are tough, strong, have a fabric feel to them, and that wonderful rich colour runs through the flowers and the stems. That's my favourite part.

The last photo here - these were so tiny. They were the size of my little fingernail. I have yet to ID them, but go ahead and leave your comment if you like.

What a difference throughout the month of May. I'm glad I stayed on top of things and kept up with photographing. It's truly incredible how fast things changed.

On our way home through the farmland, we got to see a fox bringing lunch home to her kit. I wonder where she lives?

There's some of my photo expeditions. We have more days of rain coming. I rounded up some art supplies and will be playing around with some new ideas in the next while as I watch my garden grow.

All the best!

Monika